Treatment of solitary rectal ulcer syndrome with high-fiber diet and abstention of straining at defecation

Abstract

Twenty-one patients with a solitary ulcer of the rectum were treated with instructions for a high-fiber diet and abstention of straining at defecation, since there is evidence that the solitary ulcer syndrome is caused by chronic mechanical and ischemic trauma, by hard stools, and intussusception of the mucosa. In 15 patients disappearance of symptoms and complete ulcer healing was obtained in an average period of 10.5 months (range 2.5–21 months). In the other six patients the lesions remained unchanged. The results demonstrate that softening of stools and normalization of defecation habits should be hhe mainstay in the treatment of this otherwise chronic disorder with poor healing tendency.